This freshman should help Detroit Country Day girls basketball compete for a state title

You've got to see this freshman at Detroit Country Day. 

No, not that one. 

Not Jayla Jackson, arguably the top freshman girls basketball recruit in Michigan. Besides she isn't even available to play right now. She's expected to miss the next 4-6 weeks with a cast on her left arm. 

She hasn't even made her high school debut yet and she already holds six Division I offers. And she even received offers from Syracuse, Ohio State and Eastern Michigan when she was still in middle school. 

The best the point guard could do during the Yellowjackets' 66-34 season-opening victory Tuesday night at Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest was cheer on her teammates from the bench. 

And that was a bummer for first-year coach Amber Deane. 

Country Day (1-0) has gone to back-to-back Division 2 state semifinals the past two seasons. 

Last year's team didn't have a single senior, but it had plenty of talent. Except it seemed like it was missing one more piece, or one presence, that could've gotten them a step closer to their first state championship since 2018. 

Deane inherited essentially the same core of players. And with each of them a year older, they should be poised to take that next step, especially if Jackson ends up being that missing presence last year's squad lacked. 

But, wait, what about this other freshman? 

Oh yeah, that's right. 

That would be Naiya Krispin, who had quite the breakout performance. 

While the shooting guard totaled just nine points, she was hard to miss. 

Time after time, she poked free loose balls, corralled steals and ignited fastbreaks. 

She has sprinter's speed, fancy ballhandling skills and all the swagger you could ask for. 

"Naiya Krispin is great. She's just great," Deane said. "She's just an excellent kid, really smart and understands the game. She handles the ball really well, and she's really crafty. She's just a great person to be around, and she brings so much skill to our team. And on the defensive end, too. She's a sneaky, really good defender."

That's definitely true. 

She showed that halfway through the third quarter. 

More:Jerica Williams leaving Detroit Country Day girls basketball for Windward School in LA

A Lutheran Northwest turnover was rolling out of bounds when Krispin made a play for it. There was no way she was going to catch up to the ball, so she was going to have to dive to try and save it. Floorburns were imminent. 

Except that's not what happened. Somehow, some way, Krispin, who also holds an offer from EMU, raced to the ball before it hit the boundary line. Instead of reaching for it with both hands, she... just... started... dribbling it. 

Like, seriously?!

Once she regained control, she dribbled it between her legs, evaded a steal from Crusaders junior Aliyah Ozlas and then whipped a pass to a streaking Aysia Yokely, who finished at the rim with a jaw-dropping, hard-fought layup. 

"I had heard so many great things about her (Krispin)," said Deane, who took over the program from former Yellowjackets coach Jerica Williams in June. "But to actually get in the gym with her, it was — dang — it was great."

Krispin, who attended Auburn Hills Avondale for middle school, split her summer training by playing for the Nike Lady Gymrats EYBL travel team and working with Deane at open gyms at DCDS. 

She's already made an instant impact. 

"I'm excited," Krispin said. "We're definitely going to go for a state championship. We just have to keep working."

Outside of Krispin, the Yellowjackets looked like a different team compared to last year's final-four squad. 

Obviously, they weren't facing defending state champion Ypsilanti Arbor Prep or another elite D-2 squad, but you could just tell they have improved.

Yokely (18 points), Country Day's sharpshooter, looked more athletic than ever and proved she still was a threat to bury any shot from behind the 3-point line. 

Ari'Yanna Wiggins (15 points) appeared to be in better shape than last year, which is saying something because she was already entering 2022-23 as one of the top sophomores in the state. 

Emma Barnes Arico (nine points), the daughter of Michigan women's basketball coach Kim Barnes Arico, just oozed with confidence as the main ballhandler. A year ago, Emma was a solid player but was often timid in big moments. Now she's the vocal leader of the team, and a leader like that was missing last season. She might end up being the team's X-factor from that standpoint alone. 

And Jaidyn Elam (eight points) looked bigger, stronger and faster. That should make the small forward a scoring machine when she mixes it up in the post because, well, she already has a knack for hitting big shots outside of the paint. 

"We really believe in ourselves," Deane said. "We believe in our talent. We believe in our chemistry. We believe the sky is the limit for this group. We believe that we are really special, and it's because we put a lot of time and work into it. We don't just walk in and expect to be great. We work at it every single day, and that helps increase their confidence because we put the time and effort and the reps up every single day we go for it."

The Yellowjackets should be a state champion contender now that they've finally found their missing piece — or pieces, you could say. 

Brandon Folsom covers high school sports in metro Detroit for Hometown Life. Follow him on Twitter @folsombrandonj. 

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